18 April 2016

China's Big Move

10 Nisan 5776In an earlier post - April Can Be A Dangerous Month - we pointed out the significance of the April 19th date for those who basically worship the Satan. Now, we see that this April 19th, a major economic event is in the works...China's yuan gold benchmark to launchTop Chinese banks and gold miners, along with the world's biggest jewellery retailer, will be among 18 members taking part in Beijing's new yuan-denominated gold benchmark, a source familiar with the matter said.Two foreign banks will also join the benchmark-setting process, when it launches on April 19, marking China's biggest step to become a price-setter for gold.As the world's top producer, importer and consumer of gold, China has baulked at having to depend on a dollar price in international transactions, and believes its market weight should entitle it to set the price of gold.A yuan gold fix is not expected to pose an immediate threat to the gold pricing dominance of London and New York, but it could ultimately give Asia more power, particularly if the Chinese currency becomes fully convertible.Is this a threat to the US dollar? And if so, might the US feel compelled to do something unexpected in order to thwart or circumvent China's plans? And is the choice of April 19th important? A mid-week Tuesday on an odd-numbered date like "19" seems a strange choice to me outside the previously mentioned context. Maybe we'll see as early as tomorrow.